The present invention relates to a buffer storage unit, in particular for accumulating and releasing, in rows which are equidistant or have a programmed timing, products which arrive from a continuous advancement line and are arranged in non-equidistant rows.
Lines for packaging products such as chocolate bars, candy or the like are known, wherein the products are removed from their mold and placed on a conveyance line which extends continuously; said products are arranged in rows or groups of rows which are spaced from one another in a not strictly uniform manner (the term "rows" is used to indicate lines of products arranged perpendicular to the product advancement direction). Said rows must be transferred onto a second line which has a constant speed which is different from that of the first line; on said second line, the rows must have a strictly constant mutual distance so as to be able to effectively feed subsequent packaging machines.
There are packaging machines which are capable of changing their operating speeds according to the variations in the flow of the incoming rows, but said changes are rather difficult to perform, require a certain time to be performed and do not effectively solve the problem.